- The awareness week is an opportunity to celebrate the successes of social workers and the impact the profession has on communities
- Social workers provide a wide range of support, helping children and adults to maximise their life chances and reach their full potential
- Salford City Council currently provides social care to 5,446 adults and children
This year’s Social Work Week, 17 to 21 March 2025, which coincides with World Social Work Day on 18 March, aims to bring people together to celebrate the successes of social workers and to pay tribute to the impact the profession has on communities.
Key themes of the awareness week this year are focused on:
- Data and insight: how to ensure that social workers practice and its regulation is data driven and how this can improve people’s experience of the profession.
- Education and training: how are social workers supported throughout each step of their career journey and why continuous learning and supervision is essential.
- Innovation: learnings from the adoption of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve professional practice and where are the ethical tensions.
- Professional identity: understanding if a greater sense of professional identity is crucial for the future of social work.
- Safe and effective practice: how professional competence contributes to building public trust in the social work profession and what can be learnt from fitness to practise.
Social workers work autonomously and collaborate as part of a professional team to provide a wide range of support, helping children and adults to maximise their life chances and reach their full potential.
In what is very much a rewarding career, the role can be a demanding and emotional one. Social workers are often the unsung heroes, and this is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing work that our social workers do with residents of Salford.
They advise, help and protect children and adults with support needs from harm or abuse and support them to live independently. From helping keep a family under pressure together to supporting someone with mental health problems, learning disabilities and those on the autism spectrum, social workers have to make difficult decisions that impact people’s lives based on the best interests of children and adults.
Social workers also help people to overcome significant difficulties, such as substance addictions, domestic abuse, mental health challenges, and homelessness and poverty, supporting them to be empowered and live independently, develop positive relationships and access education, training and employment.
Salford City Council provides:
- 13 types of social care services to vulnerable adults and children across the city
- an average of 129,545 hours of care to adults/children each month
- social care to 5,446 adults and children
Councillor Jim Cammell, Lead Member for Children’s and Young People’s Services at Salford City Council said: “We are proud of the work we do to improve the lives of our children, young people and families in Salford, and our social workers are absolutely key to that. I want to recognise the dedication and valuable work that our social workers do, and also the teams who support them, to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive.”
“Through this national recognition, we can help to inform and educate the public on what social work is and work collaboratively with other local authorities and government bodies to share valuable knowledge that can help to address the challenges and create positive solutions. This week is an important part of recognising and celebrating social workers’ commitment and dedication, and to thank them for the incredible work they do every day.”
Councillor John Merry, Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Salford City Council said: “Social care is a very important part of our work with our communities and partners to help everyone lead fulfilling, healthy, and independent lives in Salford. This week is a great way of highlighting all the unseen but vital support that social work provides for residents to care for their strengths, connections, and families, in their own homes and communities.”
Councillor Mishal Saeed, Executive Support Social Care and Mental Health at Salford City Council said: “Our social workers play a vital role in supporting residents in the community, helping their wellbeing in order to live longer and better lives and feel connected to others in their area. This week is an important part of recognising and celebrating social workers commitment and dedication.”
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- Date published
- Tuesday 18 March 2025
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